October 19, 2011 This issue reports on four new EMDR studies: a groundbreaking pilot study of EMDR trauma treatment in patients with psychosis; a case report from a clinic in Arizona examining peak athletic performance combining neurofeedback, Interactive Metronome and EMDR; a notable and long awaited report from the French National Center for Scientific Research first reported at the EMDR Europe conference in 2009 in Paris in which principle researcher Myriam El Khoury-Malhame showed objective, neurological declines in attentional bias (as measured by the Stroop Test) together with decreases in standard measures of PTSD symptoms in clinical cases of post-traumatic stress disorder; and a laboratory study from Australia with non-clinical subjects which found no significant difference in false recalls between EMDR and Imaginal Exposure subjects. Plus Good Reader feed stories on: Blame 'faulty' frontal lobe function for undying optimism in face of reality, Babies show sense of fairness, altruism as early as 15 months, New findings concerning function of the hippocampus, A shot of cortisone might stop traumatic stress, in reading facial emotion, context is everything.September 12, 2011 This issue reports on: the 2011 EMDRIA Annual Conference, the passing of Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, research on EMDR recent event and group protocols, EMDR treatment of personality disorders, addiction, and male couples. Google Reader feed: Belly bacteria boss the brain, Recession-sensitive parenting, Fish oil's impact on cognition and brain structure identified in new study, Wakeup call for college students: New research finds you need to catch more Z’s, Good ruminations or bad ruminations in the depressed brain?. August 17, 2011 This issue reports on: two new pilot studies of EMDR, a review article and a study combining EMDR and CBT. Early intervention for critical incident post assault distress in mental health nurses was examined in a pilot study. Google Reader feed Brain, Behavior and Memory studies cited include: Children of depressed mothers have a different brain: MRI scans show their children have an enlarged amygdala; Childhood maltreatment linked to long-term depression risk and poor response to treatment; Use of antipsychotics for reducing military-related chronic PTSD symptoms does not appear effective; Out-of-the-blue panic attacks aren't without warning: Body sends signals for hour before.

July 19, 2011 This issue reports on: a single case report of EEG imaging of EMDR - pretreatment, intratreatment, and posttreatment; whether it matters if EMDR is done with eye movements, hand taps or tones; evidence not consistent with mode-specific effects of the working memory hypothesis and which instead supports the central executive function model. Google Reader feed Brain, Behavior and Memory studies cited include: Out-of-body experiences linked to neural instability; people who meditate also have stronger connections between brain regions and show less age-related brain atrophy; positive reframing, acceptance and humor are the most effective coping strategies for people dealing with failures; protective factors that help women recover from childhood violence.

June 25, 2011 This issue reports on a case study (full text available online) in which EMDR showed change in hippocampal volume, research on horizontal saccadic eye movements and interhemispheric coherence, eye movements and working memory. Google Reader feed Brain, Behavior and Memory studies cited include: Each side of the brain handles visual information coming in from the opposite side; corporal punishment study based on actual audio recordings; babies only a few months old have a solid grasp on basic rules of the physical world. EMDR treatment of Panic Disorder home study course Approved for 3.0 EMDRIA Credits.

January 24, 2011 This issue reports on five new EMDR articles: “Feasibility of brief intensive exposure therapy for PTSD patients with childhood sexual abuse: A brief clinical report”, “Psychological treatments for fibromyalgia: A meta-analysis,” “Taxing working memory reduces vividness and emotional intensity of images about the queen's day tragedy,” and “The impact of taxing working memory on negative and positive memories” (full text available online). Google Reader feed includes: People Aren't Born Afraid of Spiders and Snakes: Fear Is Quickly Learned During Infancy. EMDRIA Credits now available for the Book Course.

December 16, 2010 This issue reports four new EMDR articles: “Use of EMDR in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorders: A case series.” (Full text free online), “Effectiveness of MASTR/EMDR therapy for traumatized adolescents.”, “Stepping stones: EMDR treatment of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and challenging behavior.”, “Practice parameter for the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with posttraumatic stress disorder” (Full text free online). Why you should read the blog UnderstandingDissociation.com. Recent research reports on Brain, Behavior and Memory from my Google Reader feed include: a memory training program shows promise in relieving symptoms of ADD, where unconscious memories form, a woman who can feel no fear. Also in the news, Tricare agrees (finally) to cover EMDR, I am now accredited as an EMDR Europe trainer, my 2009 book will be published in Spanish in May 2011, Spring 2011 Sonoma Psychotherapy Training Institute basic training to begin February 2011.

August 4, 2010 This issue summarizes three new EMDR articles and abstracts on: “ Cortisol response following exposure treatment for PTSD in rape victims,” “Therapeutic alliance in cognitive-constructivist treatment and in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR),” and “A Single Case Study of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with Tourette’s Disorder Aggravated by Stress at Work.” There are highlights from my Google Reader feed on recent research reports on Brain, Behavior and Memory such as how smokers who are taught cognitive strategies show increased activity in the prefrontal cortex and decreased activity in areas of the striatum and reviewed in a paper published online Aug. 2 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A reminder about the EMDRIA Conference in Minneapolis September 30 through October 3, 2010 and my presentation Session 333 "EMDR Treatment of Panic Disorder with and without Agoraphobia: Two Model Treatment Plans" on Saturday October 2 from 1:30-5:00 PM.

July 21, 2010 This issue reports on two of the plenaries from EMDR Europe's 11th annual conference in Hamburg June 11-13 and several of the presentations at the first EMDR Asia conference in Bali July 9-11, 2010. Five abstracts of recent articles on EMDR are listed including: a case series of phantom limb pain treated with EMDR with long-term follow up; a working memory investigation of counting as a distractor similar to BLS in EMDR; how the smoothness of pursuit eye movements in EMDR improves with successful reprocessing; a case series of depressed patients treated with EMDR; and a pilot controlled trial of acute schizophrenic inpatients treated with EMDR. There are highlights from my Google Reader feed on recent research reports on Brain, Behavior and Memory such as the locus of courage in the brain. April 2, 2010 This issue invites clinicians to join me in attending the First EMDR Asia Conference "Building Bridges between East & West through EMDR" at the Inna Grand Bali Beach Hotel, Sanur, Bali, Indonesia July 9-11, 2010. It announces the Sonoma PTI blog commentary “Developmental Pathways to Dissociation” on two prospective longitudinal studies that followed high-risk children from birth to age 19. If you believe that "attachment trauma" is the root cause of adult dissociation or that disorganized attachment is a necessary precursor to adult dissociation you will be surprised by the findings of these compelling studies. It reviews a new treatment outcome article from Kemp, Drummond and McDermott (2010) on children with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms from motor vehicle accidents that concludes that EMDR should be considered a primary treatment for children suffering from persistent PTSD. There are highlights from my Google Reader feed on recent research reports on Brain, Behavior and Memory such as “When memory-related neurons fire in sync with certain brain waves, memories last.”

March 15, 2010 This issue reviews an important new paper from Ad de Jongh, Erik ten Brocke and Steven Meijer describing an approach to EMDR treatment planning that has been taught in some European countries the last few years. There is a summary and a link to the Sonoma PTI blog which features a commentary on just released results of the 2-year Trauma Response Programme (TRP) for those aﬀected by the 2005 London bombings. From 910 initial contacts, 217 individual out of 596 who completed screening were treated with TF-CBT or EMDR. There are also links to recent research reports on brain, behavior, and memory including the identification of different signal paths for spontaneous and deliberate activation of memories. February 22, 2010 This issue announces the launch of the Sonoma Psychotherapy Training Institute web site and blog. It includes links to news reports on how memories are strengthened by resting, how the brain forgets things on purpose and how attachment style may affect memories for relationship events. The Sonoma PTI blog article featured is “Extinction or Reconsolidation: Differences between suppression and transformation in how we recover from traumatic experiences.” Also, an EMDR research report from Ad de Jongh comparing EMDR and Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT) for survivors of road traffic accidents.

January 11, 2010 This issue includes links to – a Science News review article on the default brain network; reports that question the reliability of fMRI studies, sleep deprivation in teens, and the impact of SSRI medication (Paxil) on personality traits; two recent articles on EMDR’s effects on the brain evaluated by near-infrared spectroscopy and Magnetic Resonance Imaging; and history taking tools available free of charge online.

November 19, 2009 This first issue in the new html format includes links to – four major Science News review articles on the science of sleep and a pdf of Bob Stickgold’s 2002 article on EMDR and REM; an October 24, 2009 recording available free of charge online of Dr. Leeds’s talk on using HeartMath’s heart rate coherence biofeedback program with EMDR; and reports on neurogenesis, memory and the hippocampus.